The US has launched a new round of strikes on Iran after President Donald Trump signalled he would “hit them hard again tonight” following an exchange of attacks on Tuesday.
Explosions have been reported by Iranian state media in parts of the country’s south, including Sirik and Bandar Abbas – port cities on the Strait of Hormuz.
After the latest strikes, Trump said in a post on Truth Social: “This is in retribution for yesterday’s bombing of ships by Iran. If it happens again, it will get much worse!”
Gulf nations reported Iranian attacks following the US strikes, with explosions in Bahrain’s capital Manama, Kuwait intercepting missiles and drones, and Qatar issuing a security alert.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has confirmed that it launched retaliatory strikes on US military bases in Kuwait and Bahrain overnight, and called them the “first phase of the punitive response against the American treaty-breakers”.
Iran’s parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who is also the country’s chief negotiator with the US, said on X that America “still hasn’t learned that bullying and breaking promises are no longer cost-free”.
“Let me put it plainly: if you strike, you’ll get hit,” he wrote, adding that the Strait of Hormuz will only open under Iranian arrangements – not “American threats”.
US Central Command (Centcom) said the most recent round of strikes was carried out to “further degrade Iran’s ability to attack commercial shipping and innocent civilian mariners” in the vital waterway.
In a statement it said it had struck 90 Iranian military targets, which included air defense systems and military logistics infrastructure along Iran’s coastline.
“The latest strikes follow successful execution of offensive strikes in Iran the night before,” Centcom added.
Several explosions have also reportedly been heard in other parts of the Iranian coast, including the cities of Konarak and Chabahar.
Iranian state TV reported eight explosions in Bandar Abbas, and said two missiles had hit the ports of both Sirik and Jask – also in southern Iran.
It added that two projectiles had hit the island of Abu Musa, which has been the subject of a longstanding ownership dispute between Iran and the United Arab Emirates.
Air defence systems have been activated in Bandar Abbas, according to reports in Iranian state media.
The extent of damage from the US strikes is not yet known, but Iranian media have reported power cuts in Chabahar and a fire at an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) barracks in Bushehr.
Two of three power lines cut off in Chabahar had been restored quickly and a third would be operational soon, the Iranian Students’ News Agency said.
Earlier on Wednesday, Centcom wrote in a statement that it held Iran accountable for “recent unjustified aggression against commercial shipping and civilian crews freely navigating a vital international waterway.”
Speaking to reporters from Air Force One on Wednesday evening, the US president said Iran had “called a little while ago” and wanted to make a deal “so badly”.
Trump added: “I just don’t know if they’re worthy of making a deal – I don’t know that they’re going to honour the deal, that’s the problem.”
